The Supreme Court could still overturn the result, however its decision was not expected for more than a week. Only lawmakers of Pakistan’s national and provincial parliaments voted for the president Saturday, October 6, a system critics claim is "illegitimate" in the current political climate of the country.
Before the vote took place, almost 200 opposition legislators resigned their parliamentary seats in protest, saying that as head of the army, Musharraf is not allowed to run for president. They also said the election should be postponed until new parliaments convene next year.
Pakistani Christians also weighed in on the debate, after failing to put forward their own presidential candidate. Joseph Francis, the Pakistan Christian National Party leader, comfirmed to BosNewsLife that the election commission rejected his nomination, citing an article of Pakistan’s constitution barring non-Muslim candidates from running in presidential polls.
"ALL POLITICAL PARTIES"
Speaking on national television Musharraf did not mention the controversy, although he made clear that "all political parties," including apparently Christians, should participate in what he called his "National Reconciliation Plan."
However in a first reaction, the chairman of the Pakistani human rights and aid group Rays of Development, Ferhan Mazher, told BosNewsLife that the plan "is not national reconciliation in the true sense, as the only Christians presidential hopeful has been refused to participate in the presidential polls."
Francis had urged authorities to change the dreaded article 42 of the constitution banning Christians from running for president, at a time when Christian believers seek more protection in politics because of heightened religious tensions in the country. There have been violent attacks against churches and in some regions Muslim militants have threatened to kill Christians unless they convert to Islam.
Christians comprise less than three percent of Pakistan’s mainly Muslim population of 165 million people, according to United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimates.
WORKING WITH RIVALS
Musharraf told reporters he wanted to create more stability in the country and fight against Muslim extremism and terrorism, by working with his political archrivals. He said talks are underway on possible amnesty with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who has been living in exile since 1999 after she was dismissed on charges of corruption. Musharraf also said he wanted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif "to participate" in reconciliation.
President Musharraf ousted Sharif in a dramatic coup in 1999, but he was allowed to return to Pakistan last month from exile in Saudi Arabia, following a Pakistan Supreme Court ruling in his favor.
On the eve of his election as president, Musharraf also reached out to Muslim religious leaders critical of his policies, by re-opening the ‘Lal Masjid’ or ‘Red Mosque’ in Islamabad, three months after the military operation ‘Silence’ in which Muslim hard liner clergy Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was killed and his elder brother Abdul Aziz Ghazi was arrested.
Scores of Muslims offered Friday prayers at the mosque today under strict security, BosNewsLife established. Pakistan spend 13 million Pakistani Rupees ($214,000) on the renovation of the mosque, according to government figures.
